


Who’s the imposter? Find out on the next episode of Dragon Ball Z!

by xv2lover



Series: DBS x Among Us [2]
Category: Among Us (Video Game), Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Space, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Crossover, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Murder Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:21:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27003466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xv2lover/pseuds/xv2lover
Summary: Mira HQ is a peaceful place, if not a bit boring, but everything gets turned around when a series of odd events start to shake the station up. Will our heroes be able to kick out the imposter?
Relationships: Android 18/Krillin (Dragon Ball), Bulma Briefs/Vegeta, Caulifla/Kale (Dragon Ball), Chi-Chi/Son Goku (Dragon Ball)
Series: DBS x Among Us [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2024168
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	1. Story

**Author's Note:**

> Hey it’s me again, with my second fanfic. I had this one in mind ever since I finished up the universe 6 one. Feel free to tell me what you think :)
> 
> This fic is technically a continuation of my previous fanfic in this AU, but reading that fic isn’t not required in order to understand what’s going on in this story.
> 
> Here is the prequel if you’re interested: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26926567

For such an important place, life at Mira Headquarters is surprisingly boring. No one knows this more than it’s crew, more specifically Vegeta. Vegeta isn’t a special man by any means, his days usually consist of doing simple tasks and dealing with the more annoying crew members until he heads to his quarters to pour himself a stiff drink to enjoy before falling asleep.

Suffice to say, Vegeta counts down the days until they switch out with a different crew so he can head home to see his family.

However, this all changes when something unexpected occurs at the station.

~~~~~~

Vegeta rushes from weapons into the cafeteria, finding Goku—or as Vegeta often referred to him, Kakarot—sitting at a table and eating a bag of chips. “Kakarot, get your act together and help me!”

Goku is mid-chew when speaks to Vegeta. “Oh, hey Geets. Why are you so panicky?”

“Didn’t you hear? Beerus is coming!”

Goku’s eyes widen and he quickly gets up from his seat. “Beerus?! Like our boss, Beerus?”

“Yes, you dolt! Hurry up and follow me, we have less than 24 hours to make this station look like it’s being managed by a competent crew!”

~~~~~~

The next day Vegeta stands beside Goku and the rest of the crew. They are all wearing spiffy uniforms, and Lazuli remarks about how it’s nice to change out of those “bulky suits."

Vegeta shares a look with Goku, one that tells him to behave. Goku nods, seeming to understand that his usual antics wouldn’t be wise to do around their boss.

Beerus arrives, entering the station in a similarly formal-looking uniform. His hands are around his back and his posture stands tall. The most notable thing about him is how much tech has attached to his body. Vegeta knows it’s common for the higher-ups to augment themselves with lots of tech to substitute various menial activities(like having to remember someone’s name), but it still shocks him to see their boss in the flesh and not behind a screen.

“Tight ship you’re running here Captain...” he touches the side of an eyepiece on his face as he looks at the crew. “Gohan.”

Gohan steps forward, saluting. “That would be me, sir. It’s an honor to have you on our ship.”

Beerus glares at him. “Hmph, we’ll see. I trust your crew has been running at max efficiency?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Then you can all stop being so nervous. Captain Gohan, please show me around the ship. The rest of you should have tasks you’re supposed to be doing.”

The crew salutes and Vegeta drags Goku away before he does something stupid, like approach Beerus.

~~~~~~

Things continue to go as normal, or at least as normal as things can be while everyone’s trying to impress the boss, when suddenly an emergency meeting is called. Vegeta and Goku are hanging out in the lab when it happens. They both give each other a wide-eyed stare before rushing through decontamination to get to the cafeteria.

At the cafeteria the crew looks like a mess. Krillin looks like he’s on the verge of breaking down, with Lazuli holding him close being the only thing to stop him from doing so. Gohan stands at the head of the table, nodding in acknowledgement as Vegeta and his father enter the room, but he looks sad as well. Beerus stands behind him and looks impassive, especially compared to the rest of the crew.

“I’ve brought you here to report... to say that Tien has died,” Gohan says, his eyes drifting from the crew to his hands on the table.

The crew gasps and turns to each other at the news. Due to the crew being so small at only nine members, it’s safe to say that everyone knew Tien well. Though none feel his death as much as Krillin, who hugs Lazuli closer as a sob escapes from him.

“What happened?” Lazuli’s brother, Lapis, asks.

“By the looks of it, he was connecting some wiring and was shocked to death. Krillin was the one who... uh,” Gohan clears his throat. “Krillin found the body.”

“Your first inspection day and someone has already died. How pitiful,” Beerus comments, his arms crossed and his face not showing any signs of sorrow.

Goku glares at Beerus, his hands tightening into fists. “Hey, you could at least act like you care!”

Vegeta looks surprised at Goku’s outburst. Goku hardly ever got angry, though Vegeta knows he also knew Tien almost as well as Krillin did. Still, he knows that Goku provoking Beerus’s ire would not be wise. “Kakarot,” he says, his voice low and warning. “Think about who you’re getting angry at.”

“Why should I care? Without this device on my head I wouldn’t even know your names. How a crew as incompetent as this got assigned to this ship to begin with is beyond me,” Beerus says.

“One of your employees is dead! Don’t you care even a little bit?!”

“An employee that signed a contract that insisted the risk of death while on these ship’s is substantial. He should have been more careful while wiring, but he got careless.”

Goku looks like he’s about to argue further, but Vegeta steps in front of him. “Kakarot! Just stop, he’s not going to care, no matter how much you argue with him.”

Goku grits his teeth but nods.

~~~~~~

Given that they’re in space, funeral services often happen around an incinerator instead of a grave. Goku and Krillin are the ones to send Tien off, with the other crew mates staying silent as Goku and Krillin say their goodbyes.

“You were the best friend a guy could have, and you deserved better than this. I’ll miss you, Tien,” Krillin chokes out. He forces himself to step back from the incinerator and allows Goku to speak.

Goku isn’t accustomed to funerals. His parents are still alive, the only dead family members he has are distant and died when he was too young to remember it. The last funeral he went to was Roshi’s. Goku puts his hand on the door of the incinerator.

“I’m gonna miss you too, Tien. I hope wherever you are, you and Roshi are having a blast together.”

Vegeta follows Goku as he leaves. Vegeta hasn’t been one for physical affection, but his wife and children have reached him to soften up over the years. He puts a hand on Goku’s shoulder. “Sorry,” is all he can muster.

Goku nods. “Thanks for being here for me, Geets, but I think I want to be alone for a while.”

Vegeta nods and leaves him be.

~~~~~~

Vegeta walks through an empty hallway, his hands stuffed in his uniform pants pockets. He stops walking and allows himself to lean against one the of the cold walls. This death will change Goku, he knows that for certain. While he has had to attend many funerals in his lifetime: his parents' funerals, one for an uncle and another for his cousin, he still finds himself feeling bad for Goku’s loss.

He wonders what he should do next, when suddenly another also goes off. This isn’t a meeting alarm, it’s continuous, and it prompts him to rush to the nearest wall tablet to see what is going on. To his horror, he finds the oxygen levels of the station lowering by the second, and since none of them are wearing their space suits...

He dashes off towards O2 without a second thought.

~~~~~~

Vegeta arrives in O2 to find Frieza there, tapping away at one of the number pads. Vegeta glares at him, it’s no secret that they are enemies. Even Goku doesn’t like Frieza and Goku is friends with everybody.

Frieza turns to find Vegeta scowling at him. “Well? Are you going to help stabilize the oxygen or would you prefer to suffocate?”

Vegeta helps him out, even if he despises doing so. He can’t let their mission come to an end like this.

It’s not long after O2 is stabilized that another alarm goes off, this time one that is for an emergency meeting. Vegeta grabs Frieza's wrist and drags him along to the cafeteria and Frieza protests but doesn’t dare pull away.

~~~~~~

The atmosphere of this meeting is less sorrowful and more serious. Gohan’s eyes fall on each crew member, examining them carefully. His eyes narrow when he notices Vegeta dragging Frieza in.

“You two took a while to get here,” he says.

“Making sure the crew doesn’t suffocate takes a while,” Vegeta shoots back, finally letting go of Frieza and moving to stand beside Goku. Goku’s shoulders are still slumped in sorrow, but he remains attentive to the meeting.

Before Gohan begins, Beerus interjects. “When I said you were a lousy crew, I was hoping you would take that as a sign to do better. What’s next, is the ship going to catch on fire? Maybe its fuel tank will explode?”

“Beerus, would you please be quiet?” Gohan asks. Beerus wants to scold the young captain for speaking so rudely to a commanding officer, but Gohan’s scowl makes him keep his mouth shut. “I was keeping an eye on things in comms when oxygen started malfunctioning. Piccolo was with me. Where was everyone else?”

Lazuli speaks up. “I was with Krillin in his room. He went there to grieve and I wanted to offer support.” The two hold hands, and Krillin nods to Gohan his confirmation.

“You already know Frieza and I were in oxygen. Before oxygen I was wandering the halls alone,” Vegeta says.

“I was in the cafeteria before I went up to oxygen,” Frieza says.

“Was anyone with you?”

“No. I’m surprised, that orange-wearing buffoon is usually gorging himself on his second lunch in the cafeteria by this time.”

Gohan is angry at the jab at his father, but he allows it to slide for the purpose of keeping things on track. “Where were you, dad?”

Goku’s voice is quieter than usual and far less enthusiastic. “Medbay. Alone.”

“Why were you in medbay? Did you have a task there?”

Goku shakes his head. “I was looking for something to help me sleep tonight.”

Gohan nods sadly. “What about you, Lapis?”

“I was testing some samples in the lab. Also alone.”

Gohan sighs, taking his glasses off and rubbing the bridge of his nose before putting them back on. “Which means you were alone, too, Beerus?”

Beerus scowls. “I don’t need a babysitter. I’m your boss for God’s sake! Why are you so concerned about where everyone is, anyway?”

“I..” Gohan is speechless. He doesn’t want to accuse anyone, but oxygen hasn’t malfunctioned in that way for the entire five and a half months he’s been captain of the EAS Mira. Something is off here and he knows it.

“I believe he’s trying to say that someone on here sabotaged oxygen,” Frieza says. The crew stares at him, all wearing expressions of shock. “I’m inclined to agree. Something did seem off when I arrived in the greenhouse. No one was there, but it seemed like the oxygen was sabotaged remotely.”

“Remotely? So whoever did it wasn’t even at oxygen?” Gohan asks.

Frieza nods. “For that reason, as much I hate to admit it, I believe your father is safe. He lacks the intellect to hack and disable such a system.”

“And how do we know you’re safe?” Vegeta points out. “I saw you get to oxygen first. Perhaps you sabotaged it and saved it to absolve yourself of guilt.”

“To what end? What possible reason do I have to sabotage the oxygen on this ship?”

“Well, you are the only one here who is able to survive without oxygen,” Piccolo says. “You’re a frost demon. It’s possible you wanted to kill us by asphyxiating us.”

“While I do not like any of you, that still doesn’t explain why I bothered with fixing it,” Frieza says.

“Enough,” Gohan says. “It’s clear we don’t have any evidence here and we’re going off of wild theories. Everyone change into your space suits, then travel with a partner. I want everyone to have an alibi by tomorrow’s meeting. Got it?”

Audible groans sound from the ship’s crew at the order of changing back into their suits, but they agree.

~~~~~~

Vegeta lies in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He can’t fall asleep, not after the possibility of a murderer on board being introduced into his mind. He wonders who it could be. Frieza is an obvious suspect, even if he’s incredibly biased to believe so. Lapis was also unaccounted for, as were Beerus and Goku.

Vegeta casts the thought of it being Goku from his mind. He has known Goku for years. This grief may have changed him, but Vegeta knows Goku is good at his core. Far better than him, anyways.

Vegeta sighs and sits up from his bed. Thinking about casting the finger of suspicion on any member of the crew is giving him a headache. He briefly considers reaching for his flask, but grabs his cell phone instead. It’s practically useless: there’s no cellphone reception in space, at least none that would allow him to contact his family on Earth. However, his wallpaper is a picture of him with his arm around Bulma. Trunks stands in front of them carrying his little sister, Bulla.

“Only half a month to go. I just have to get through the rest of this month and I’ll see them again..”

~~~~~~

Most of the crew waits at the cafeteria, only Frieza and Gohan are missing. The crew is getting antsy. They have tasks to do that can’t wait.

Beerus yawns and stretches. “Where is Gohan? I don’t like disrupting my precious sleep schedule for a meeting this early, much less if the guy who called it isn’t going to show up.”

Goku looks much worse than before. There are bags under his eyes and his hair looks crazier than usual. He’s about to stand up when Piccolo puts a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll go. You just stay here with Vegeta, all right?”

Goku gives a tiny nod and Piccolo walks off towards the direction of the sleeping quarters. Vegeta watches Goku, concerned. It’s not like him to be this depressed, but he understands why.

“How’s it going, Kakarot?” Vegeta asks, even though he knows the answer. It’s his way of checking in without making Goku think he’s taking pity on him.

“Could be better, Geets. I miss him, y’know?” Goku mutters. “I know I should get over it, go back to being the one that keeps morale up, but I dunno..”

“No one’s expecting you to stop grieving after a day, Kakarot.” Vegeta says sternly. “Loss isn’t easy. Hell, there are days I still miss my mom, even my dad. What I’m saying is.. take however long you need to cope, all right?”

Vegeta isn’t good at “feelings talk,” he never has been, so it’s a relief when he sees Goku nodding. “Thanks, Geets, I think I needed to hear that.”

~~~~~~

However, just as quickly as things were starting to look up, they go plummeting down again as Piccolo forcefully drags a stuttering Frieza into the cafeteria. Unlike Vegeta, he doesn’t let go of him.

“What’s the big idea? Where’s Gohan?” Beerus asks.

“I’ll tell you, he’s dead in his quarters! And this psycho is the one responsible!” Piccolo shouts.

“I didn’t do it! I found him there, same as you!” Frieza pleads.

Piccolo shoves him towards the meeting table, backing him up against it while poking a finger at his chest. “Bullshit! I found you standing over his body in his room, no one else around!”

Vegeta is torn between helping Kakarot, who looks liable to break down like Krillin, or backing Piccolo up on his claims.

“I didn’t do it!” Frieza shouts. “I didn’t do it...” he repeats, quieter. “Please believe me.”

”Do you have any other evidence, or is it your word against his, Piccolo?” Lapis asks, always the composed one.

“You think I did it? That boy was pretty much my nephew. I helped raise him! I wouldn’t kill him!”

“I’m taking that as a no, then,” Lapis says. “What would we do even if he was the killer? Murder him?”

“Yes,” Beerus responds coldly. The crew stares at him, disturbed. “What? It’s protocol to eliminate an imposter any way possible. Anything to improve the crew’s chances of surviving. Of course the killing would be put up to a vote. We aren’t savages, after all.”

“Well for what it’s worth, I’d vote to convict him,” Vegeta says. “I’ve always had a bad feeling about him.”

“Me too, I saw it with my own eyes,” Piccolo says.

Lapis looks pensive, but shakes his head. “I’m not about to kill a man based on flimsy evidence, even if that man is kind of an asshole.”

Lazuli nods in agreement. “I agree. Not just because he’s my brother, but I think we need all the people we have to keep this ship running.”

“I trust your judgement, honey, and I agree. We shouldn’t eject him,” Krillin says.

“Goku, I know it’s tough, but what do you think?” Piccolo asks Goku, this time gently.

Goku looks up for the first time since he heard his son had died and meets Frieza’s eyes. He sees the utter fear in them and wonders if Gohan’s eyes held a similar fear in them as he was killed, or if this monster was merciful enough to do it as he slept.

“Eject him.”

“Three to three. Beerus, you’re the tie-breaker,” Vegeta says.

Beerus looks at Frieza, studying him with squinted eyes. He turns to Vegeta, as composed as ever. “I have to agree with Krillin, Lapis, and Lazuli. You all are voting based on your emotions and not based on rational reasoning. Spare him.”

Vegeta grumbles but nods. “Fine. He lives. But don’t say we didn’t warn you.”

~~~~~~

Vegeta stays close to Goku, both because there’s safety in numbers and also because he suspects Goku isn’t in the best place mentally after his son’s death. He’s walking beside Goku when suddenly Goku leans against a wall and sinks down to the floor, hugging his knees. He buries his face against his legs and sobs.

Vegeta knows they should keep moving, but decides to sit next to Goku anyway. He doesn’t know how to comfort Goku, but decides to wrap him in a one-armed hug. He hates it with every ounce of his being, but he wants to be a good friend to Goku. Too many of his friends were driven away, Nappa, Turles, even Goku’s older brother, Raditz, all by his closed-off nature. He won’t make that mistake again.

“Why did I let him do everything alone? He’s always the one making up for my mistakes, cleaning up after his dad. I should’ve taken things more seriously, I should’ve helped him. Fuck!” Goku sobs, his helmet muffling his voice.

Vegeta doesn’t know what to say. All he can do is continue to hold Goku as he breaks down.

~~~~~~

The next meeting happens around lunch. Lapis has accepted the role as acting captain, given to him by Beerus himself.

“Where was everyone and who were you with?” Lapis asks.

“I was with Kakarot at medbay.” Vegeta says. He looks at Goku to find him once again staring at the floor. Frieza seems to stand on the opposite side of the room as him.  
“Krillin and I were at the reactor,” Lazuli says.

“I was with Piccolo. Which leaves..” Lapis says, looking at Beerus.

“I was in comms, trying to find a way to contact Whis and get off this crazy ship,” he says. “Unfortunately it turns out they’re busted somehow.”  
“Is it fixable?” Lapis asks.

“Do I look like a technician to you?” Beerus says. Lapis narrows his eyes at him, “Okay, okay, fine. I don’t think so. It looked like they were pretty bad.”

“You need to stay with someone,” Lapis scolds.

“Half this ship was willing to throw someone out of an airlock on barebones evidence, you can’t blame me for keeping my distance from you people.”

“Then stick with Krillin and Lazuli.”

“Stick with those lovebirds? No thanks, I think I’d rather risk getting stabbed.”

Piccolo looks uneasy at that, but doesn’t speak up.

“I don’t care what you think. You need an alibi or the only suspicious person will be you,” Lapis says.

“Fine, fine. I’ll stick with them,” Beerus says, sighing frustratedly. “And here I thought I was supposed to be the boss.”

~~~~~~  
Vegeta and Goku walk together once again, heading from the cafeteria back to medbay. It is the calmest place on the ship since hardly anyone needs to go there unless it is for their routine scan.

As they walk down the hallway, Goku finally speaks. “I’m not crazy, right? It has to be Frieza.” He says it quietly, but Vegeta is glad he seems to be better enough to talk without sobbing.

“I’m with you, Kakarot. The twins are cautious by nature, and Krillin trusts his wife more than anyone, so it makes since why they voted that way. But we know the truth, and we’ll be the ones to prove it,” Vegeta says. Suddenly he has an idea as they walk by comms.

“Aren’t there sensors around the ship that log where people have been?” Goku nods. “And they should be displayed on a screen in here.”

They walk into comms and Vegeta goes to work at the computer, scrolling up through the door logs. There’s a lot of activity since people are running around doing their tasks, but he thinks he’s getting too close to the ones from this morning.

Suddenly, he and Goku are distracted as the supposedly-broken radio crackles to life.

“You are receiving an emergency transmission,” a robotic voice chimes. Vegeta and Goku stare at each other for a moment, but Vegeta quickly steps up to the radio. He tries to remember what they were taught in academy when responding to an emergency transmission.

Vegeta clears his throat. “This is HQ. Please state your ship’s name and status.”

The voice over the radio is the voice of a woman, a desperate sounding one at that. “This is Caulifla, I’m a member of the crew of the SDS Skeld. There is an imposter on board our ship. His name is Frost and he caused the murder of several crewmates already. All that’s left are myself and three other crewmates.”

Vegeta doesn’t know of the Skeld itself, but judging by the ship prefix, SDS, he knows it isn’t in their sector. Beerus manages the EAS sector of ships, while other people like his brother Champa manage the other sectors.

Despite that, the idea that they’re going through what this ship is going through has him rattled. He doesn’t know how to respond, doesn’t know what protocol dictates he is supposed to do. It doesn’t matter when Goku speaks into the microphone.

“We read you loud and clear. Are you able to evacuate the crew to your ship’s escape pod?” Goku asks, trying to sound as professional as possible. Vegeta glares at him, but doesn’t argue. The last thing he wants is this person knowing her rescuers don’t know what they’re doing.

She responds quickly. “I should be able to, yeah.”

Goku steals the mic again. “Okay, we have a combat ship headed your way. Once we see an escape pod depart we’ll blast that imposter to hell.” Vegeta stares at him incredulously, wondering what the hell he is thinking. Whatever protocol is for dealing with this, it certainly isn’t that.

The woman, Caulifla, seems to buy it. “Roger that. Uh, over and out.” With that the transmission ends.

“What the hell were you thinking, Kakarot? We can’t send a combat ship to deal with a problem on a ship that isn’t even in our sector!”

“I know but she sounded desperate! What was I supposed to say, ‘please wait ‘til we forward your call to someone who gives a damn?’” Goku says, irritated. “Besides, we needed to free up the radio. Now we can ask for help.”

Vegeta nods, not willing to admit out loud that Goku’s plan may have had an inkling of sense. He tuned the radio to the channel of their sector leader. “Hello, is anyone there?”

“Whis here, speaking for Beerus while he’s away.”

“This is Mira HQ. We need reinforcements, an imposter has infiltrated our crew.”

“Okay, do you know who this imposter is?”

Vegeta and Goku share a look. “It’s a guy named Frieza.”

“Mhm. Reinforcements are being sent your way, they’ll arrive soon.”

Vegeta is annoyed that this Whis guy doesn’t sound like he gives a damn, but tries not to let it show in his voice. “Thank you.” The transmission ends and Goku and Vegeta stand there silently for a few moments.

“So what now? Do we dig in and wait for help to arrive?” Goku asks.

“We have to report to the evening meeting or we’ll look suspicious. There we’ll tell them what we did.”

~~~~~~

Lapis allows the crew the finish eating before addressing them. “Now that we’re all full, what’s everyone’s report?”

Vegeta and Goku stand before anyone else can speak. “As it turns out, the radio wasn’t as broken as Beerus said. We used it to contact Whis and he’s sending reinforcements,” Vegeta says.

Lapis looks at Beerus. “Why’d you lie?”

“Like I said, I’m not a technician. But now that they did what I was going to do anyways, all we have to do is wait. Right?”

Lapis nods. “Unless indisputable evidence is presented that leads to Gohan’s killer, we will wait until reinforcements arrive and sort out all of this mess.”

Vegeta suddenly remembers why they were in comms in the first place, and he mentally facepalms himself for being so foolish. While Frieza is still on this ship, everyone is in danger. He needs those door logs.

When the meeting concludes, Vegeta is surprised to see Piccolo approach him. “I saw that look in your eyes. What are you planning?”

“The door logs would have picked up on someone walking to Gohan’s room. I’m going to find them so we can throw that bastard Frieza out of here.”

“I’ll go.”

“Piccolo, I don’t need your help. I can manage this on my own.”

“Please,” Piccolo pleads. Behind his helmet, Vegeta sees the same guilty look he saw in Goku’s eyes. “I want to help. I have to help, for him.”

They aren’t friends, hell they’re barely acquaintances, but that guilty look is enough to make Vegeta concede. “Tch, fine. Just don’t get yourself killed doing it.”

Piccolo nods and leaves the cafeteria with Beerus.

~~~~~~

The next morning Vegeta leaves his room and walks to the cafeteria for a much needed coffee, only to see Beerus waiting for him on the way.

“What, are we friends now?” Vegeta asks sarcastically.

“Don’t get smart with me, I need an alibi.” They walk to the cafeteria together. They pass comms together when a green body catches their attention. There Piccolo lays by the door logs, purple blood leaking from his body from many stab wounds.

Vegeta and Beerus run to him at the same time. Vegeta flips him on his back and checks for any signs of life. While namekians are durable, it’s safe to say Piccolo didn’t survive this.

“It’s Frieza. It has to be,” Beerus says. “Piccolo was the first to lead the charge to convict him.”

Vegeta nods, but can’t stop staring at the dead namekian with wide eyes. He was the one that allowed Piccolo to get the door logs for him. Not to mention that means Kakarot has lost two of his friends and his own son over the course of the past few days.

Beerus puts a surprisingly supportive hand on his shoulder. “Let’s go report the body.”

~~~~~~

The cafeteria erupts in gasps at the news and all eyes turn to Frieza.

“Where were you last night and this morning?” Lapis asks.

“I was sleeping. Like a normal person.”

“Let’s put it to a vote already,” Vegeta says. “I say he’s the imposter.”

Goku has his head in his hands but manages to raise a hand in agreement.

“He’s getting bolder, whoever the imposter is, and I won’t let my Krillin die to this psycho,” Lazuli says. Krillin holds her hand.

“I agree, and I won’t let our daughter lose one or both of her parents because of this,” Krillin says.

“That makes it a majority vote. I guess we have to eject Frieza, then,” Lapis says, though a tinge of regret can be heard in his voice.

Frieza just looks down, defeated. “It wasn’t me, but I suppose it was a matter of time until the mob had their way.”

He walks to the airlock willingly, but glares back at his fellow crew mates before stepping through. “Whoever is the true imposter is, they are quite clever to pin the blame on me, but now that your fall guy is gone you’re outnumbered 5 to 1 with no other suspects. Good luck winning with those odds.”

He steps through to his fate and the crew is left silent.

~~~~~~

Goku and Vegeta go through the motions of doing their tasks, but neither speaks about Frieza’s ejection. Somehow it doesn’t feel as satisfying as it should’ve. Vegeta never looked at those door logs, but the thought of stopping by comms to do so leaves his mind as soon as the alarm for a possible reactor meltdown goes off.

The two race to decontamination without a second thought, but as they meet their crewmates there they all find themselves hesitant to go inside. It seems Frieza’s final words stirred some doubt in the crew, and no one wants to be caught in the chamber with the killer.

Goku, ever the brave soul, takes the plunge and rushes inside. Vegeta tries to stop him, but Goku shuts the door behind him as he goes in. Vegeta rushes forward into decontamination as soon as it opens back up, as do the others, but on the other side they find something horrible.

Beerus holds Goku hostage at knifepoint, right in front of the reactor.

“Let him go, you bastard!” Vegeta yells.

“I’m going to make this real clear to you all, if you try to stabilize the reactor or attack me in any way,” he presses the knife further against Goku’s neck. “This one dies.”

“Are you crazy?!” Lazuli screams. “When that thing melts down we’ll all be caught in the blast radius!”

“If that’s a sacrifice I have to make, then I will make it. I was tasked with getting rid of this ineffective crew and I can’t do that while being shot out of an airlock!”  
Vegeta and Krillin both want to rush Beerus and save their friend, but they both realize his threat is genuine. Goku will die if they do so.

Vegeta looks at his friend, the man he’s gone through everything with. The man that introduced him to Bulma and stood beside him at his wedding, the man that has had his back even though Vegeta insists on calling him an idiot at every possible opportunity. He wants to help Goku, but now he finds himself in a position where he can’t. Where trying to do so will only get him murdered.

The reactor is close to melting down now. Beerus laughs. “You Earthlings and your connections. Even when faced with certain death, you still can’t sacrifice one man to save the rest. Pitiful!”

“You’re right, they won’t sacrifice me. That’s because we Earthlings have something you will never have,” Goku says. His voice is calm even as there is a knife against his throat.

“What?”

“Loyalty. Family. Vegeta and Krillin won’t do it because they’re my friends. Lazuli won’t do it because she doesn’t want to risk her husband’s best friend getting murdered right in front of him and Lapis... well honestly I don’t know why Lapis hasn’t done it yet. Maybe because he doesn’t want to betray his sister.”

“That’s very touching, but unfortunately your friends’ loyalty to you will only get them killed.”

Goku’s eyes flash in anger. His friends are counting on him and he has a family that trusts him to come back to them alive. He won’t let them down. He elbows Beerus in the abdomen, which causes Beerus to falter. As he does so, Goku takes the chance to bite his hand and make him let go of the knife, then turns around to shove Beerus off him.  
“Lapis, Lazuli, stabilize the reactor! Now!” Goku’s voice roars in command over the alarms. The twins rush to do so. Vegeta helps Goku subdue Beerus with a good few punches to the face to knock him out.

The alarms stop blaring and the ship is intact. They’ve won, now all there is left to do is toss Beerus out.

~~~~~~

After sending him out the airlock, Goku puts a hand on the door and sighs. “Sorry, Frieza. You were an asshole, but not a murderous asshole, and you paid the price.”

“I wouldn’t feel too bad,” Vegeta says, putting a hand on his shoulder. “He can breath in space, remember? And I think we’re orbiting close enough to Earth that he should be able to get there in one piece.”

“Do you think he’ll burn up in the atmosphere?” Goku asks.

“The frost demons are a tough race. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

Goku nods, then turns back to the rest of the crew. Krillin and Lazuli stand close and hold hands, Lapis looks proudly at his crew, and Vegeta stands at his side. With the imposter gone, Goku thinks everything will be all right.


	2. Epilogue

It’s tough keeping the HQ going. With only five people doing what normally a team of nine is assigned to do, it feels like crunch time all the time. As days then weeks go by, the crew loses hope that Whis actually sent reinforcements and confirms the belief that he allowed Beerus to complete his mission unimpeded. Lapis is doing his best to keep the crew motivated and Goku has gone back to being the team’s morale booster—at least on the outside, he’s relied on Krillin and Vegeta for emotional support in private—though it’s tough to boost the morale of a crew that isn’t sure they’ll ever be able to go home and see their families.

Day by day things are getting worse, even if by a small amount, so Lapis does what he does best: he takes initiative and calls a meeting.

Vegeta and Goku sit together, as do Krillin and Lazuli. Lapis stands at the head, as usual. “I know you miss your families, hell I miss mine too, so I think it’s about time we do something about it.”

“Like what? Beerus tore up the escape pod before he pulled that stunt with Goku,” Krillin points out.

“That is true, but I was looking through storage earlier and realized just how many spare parts we have back there. Maybe we can repair what Beerus destroyed.”

Everyone looks to Vegeta, who sighs. “Just because my wife knows how to build things doesn’t necessarily mean I do.”

“Well, do you?” Lapis asks.

“...Yes, she may have taught me a few things before I went on my first station,” Vegeta says. “I’ll do what I can.”

“Ooh, can I help?” Goku asks.

Vegeta raises an eyebrow at him, silently questioning as if he truly believes he knows anything about repairing an escape pod.

“I mean.. I could be the guy that hands you the tools and stuff.”

Vegeta sighs, giving in. “Fine.”

They all make a plan for who will take up Goku and Vegeta’s remaining tasks, then each go to do their respective jobs.

~~~~~~

Vegeta barely makes any progress repairing the pod. It’s not the pods condition, nor is it the lack of tools or materials. It’s the fact that even if Vegeta rushes through his tasks—an action that is ill advised on a space station that could fall apart and cause their subsequent deaths if poorly maintained—he still doesn’t have much time to work on the pod.

“It’s frustrating. If only we had a few more people to help around here, then I could consistently work on the pod at a good enough pace to get us off this scrap heap!” Vegeta says, his fists slamming against the meeting table.

“Careful, or you’ll have to add that table to the list of things you have to repair,” Lazuli says. Though she tries to remain cool and collected like her brother, Vegeta being their only way off the station doesn’t give her much hope.

“What about the radio? Make any progress contacting some help, Goku?” Lapis asks.

“Nope. Everything that was under Beerus’s control seems to have turned a blind eye to us. We could try to contact Champa’s sector, but I don’t think our radio can transmit that far. I also tried to contact Earth, but there’s no response from them either.”

Lapis looks pensive as he considers this. “Hmm, is it possible Whis blocked all communication coming from this ship?”

“It’s definitely possible,” Krillin says.

“Well, our break time’s over. Let’s hope I can make some headway on the pod today,” Vegeta says before he leaves the room.

~~~~~~

Later that day, it seems as if someone had heard their pleas and sent them a strange answer. While monitoring the ship’s activity in admin, Lapis almost couldn’t believe it when he had received a notification on the admin panel claiming that a pod was attempting to board the ship.

Lapis had authorized the boarding procedure, but decided to keep the interior airlock closed. Now he stands with the others outside the airlock, quietly debating what they should do.

“What if Whis sent someone to finish us off?” Krillin says.

“Then we’ll fight them,” Goku says. “But If there’s even a small chance they could help, we should take it.”

“Do you want a repeat of Beerus? Because we let him aboard and look at us now,” Lazuli replies.

“I’m going to have to go against you on this one, sis. Yeah it could be another Beerus, but why would they send their assassin in an escape pod?”

“Whatever you plan on doing, do it quick. We don’t have the time to stand around,” Vegeta says. He wields his wrench like a bat, staring the door down.

Lapis nods to the others and presses the airlock open button. On the other side are three people, two of which have their space suits covered in dried blood.

Vegeta sees the blood and rushes to stand protectively in front of his friends. “If you want to kill us, then come on!”

“Wait, I remember your voice. I talked to you on the radio!” One of the girls says. She quickly pulls off her spacesuit helmet since they’re now inside the ship so he can hear her better. “I called you to report an imposter on our ship, the SDS Skeld. Remember?”

Vegeta lowers the wrench, nodding. “You’re Caulifla, then?” He looks at the other two crew mates and he frowns. “And I take it one of your crew mates didn’t make it to the pod in time?”

“Huh?” Caulifla says, but remembers what she told him. “Oh, right. It turns out there were two imposters on our ship, one revealed himself at the last minute. So it was actually me and two other crew mates.”

Kale and Cabba take off their helmets and slowly approach until they stand on either side of Caulifla.

“We should get you all to the cafeteria. The oxygen in this part of the ship has gone stale, breathe it in too long and it’s likely you’ll get lightheaded.” Lapis suggests. Everyone agrees and they walk to the cafeteria.

~~~~~~

After a while of talking, Caulifla is able to tell her story and Vegeta is able to catch them up on everything that happened with Beerus.

“Geez and I thought our ship was bad. To have your own sector leader turn on you,” Caulifla says, shaking her head. She tries not to imagine Champa doing the same thing to them. She and Kale sit together with Cabba also close.

“If there is a god, consider our prayers answered. It’s been tough keeping things going with just the five of us,” Krillin says.

“We’ll do whatever it takes to help you all. Right, Caulifla?” Kale says.

Caulifla nods. “Yeah, we’ll help I guess. Just promise not to murder us, all right?”

”Heh, as long as you promise to do the same. Or not do the same,” Goku says.

They get down to business and divide tasks. Cabba offers to replace Goku as Vegeta’s helper, since Renso had taught him some useful stuff about repairing spacecrafts before he went to academy. Caulifla agrees to whatever tasks they give her, provided she can do them with Kale at her side. Ever since the close call with Hit, it is rare to see the two apart. With everything taken care of, everyone goes to do their assigned jobs.

~~~~~~

It takes almost a month, but Vegeta and Cabba actually do it. They have repaired the escape pod. The process ended up being a lot quicker than Vegeta would have predicted, since they were able to use a lot of intact parts from the SDS escape pod to fix the EAS one. The escape pod is a tight fit, but the two couples on the ship have no problem with cuddling up to each other. Everyone else has to suck it up, though.

The pod descends to Earth. The view is a sight to behold, even the Mira HQ folks are excited to see the Earth so close up. It’s beautiful to see the planet they know and love from this high up.

Entering the atmosphere, however, is very much less beautiful. Mostly on account of the flames blocking any sort of view. The pod shakes as it hurdles towards Earth, and Vegeta wonders if he did such a good job welding this thing together after all.

Krillin and Lazuli clutch each other and close their eyes. Kale shakes as she embraces Caulifla, whispering “I love you,” over and over just in case this is the last time she’ll ever be able to say it. Caulifla does the same. Even Goku and Vegeta grab each other and scream in unison. Cabba hugs his knees to his chest and tries unsuccessfully to not hyperventilate.

“If this pod doesn’t kill us, I will strangle you for making me go through this, Vegeta!” Lapis yells.

“It was your idea!” Vegeta yells back, before continuing his screaming with Goku.

Luckily the parachute opens and they sail to the ground safely. Even more luckily they landed on the ground instead of in the middle of the ocean. When they leave the pod, Caulifla tackles Kale to the ground and they both lay on their backs, sharing a much needed laugh after such an experience.

Cabba falls face-first to the ground and begins to give it kisses. “God, how I’ve missed you, Earth!”

Goku loops an arm around Vegeta as soon as they exit the pod. “Would you look at all that beautiful wasteland? And that non-recycled air?” He takes a deep breath for emphasis.

“We’re actually here. We’re alive!” Vegeta says.

Lapis seems not as interested in exacting revenge against Vegeta as he is in enjoying being on solid ground again. Krillin and Lazuli share some much-needed kisses. All in all, everyone just seems happy to be alive.

~~~~~~

Vegeta and Goku ride in a taxi together. As they near Goku’s address, Vegeta can see the worry on his face.

“I’ll stick with you, Kakarot.”

“I know, Geets. I just.. I promised her I’d get us home safely. Both of us.”

Vegeta nods. “I know. It’ll suck, really really suck, and you’ll have to be patient with her while she grieves. But I know you’ll all pull through. You’re the toughest family I know.”

Goku nods, but doesn’t say anything else for the rest of the ride.

When they arrive at Goku’s home, Goku’s hand hovers over the door. He takes a deep breath and knocks. Chi-chi opens the door and she instantly jumps into Goku’s arms before kissing him.

“God, I missed you so much! Weren’t you supposed to be back sooner?” When she pulls back and doesn’t see Gohan beside him, her eyes turn questioning. “Where’s Gohan?”

“Is Goten at school?” Goku asks. Chi-chi nods, her expression turning scared. “Vegeta and I have something to tell you.”

They tell her about everything. The murders, the last ditch effort to get home, everything. Chi-chi cries at the loss of her child and Goku comforts her to the best of his ability. Vegeta takes his leave, since he was mostly there to help Goku’s story be believable.

Vegeta feels guilty as he approaches his and Bulma’s estate. He feels guilty that he’ll be able to go home and see his family tragedy-free, while Goku does not get that pleasure. However the guilt disappears and is instead replaced with happiness when Trunks jumps into his arms and Bulma approaches him holding Bulla while giving him a kiss on the cheek.

He enjoys his time with his family, even more so now that he realizes just how fragile his life is and just how valuable his family is.

~~~~~~

Caulifla and Kale’s time back on Earth is happier, however. After Caulifla and Kale have had plenty of time to spend with their own families, Caulfila finally decides to invite Kale on a proper date. To a restaurant and everything.

Kale dresses up for the occasion, both because she wants to look nice and also because she wants to impress her girlfriend. She considers leaving her hair down, especially since Caulifla has told her many times while they’ve been together that she likes how Kale looks with her hair own, but she decides to pull it back anyway. Just for now, and if she wants it down later she can just remove the hair tie.

She calls an Uber to go the restaurant and is relieved when the driver is one of the types that don’t try and make small talk. She makes sure to tip him extra just for that reason. She sees Caulifla waiting for her outside the restaurant also wearing nice clothes. Caulifla walks up to Kale and gives her a brief kiss on the lips before offering her arm, which Kale takes gratefully.

Kale’s worries about the dinner being awkward seem to be unfounded, as the dinner goes well and conversation flows naturally between them. It’s almost like their time in space, only now they’re safe where certain death isn’t a constant threat.

“As it turns out, Renso was rooting for us the whole time. He even said he called it, can you believe that?” Caulifla says.

“Really? I didn’t think we were that obvious.”

“Turns out we were, I guess,” Caulifla says. She and Kale share a smile as they reach across the table to hold hands. “Damn, I really am the luckiest girl in the cosmos, ain’t I?”

“Heh, I still think I have you beat there.”

They’re about to lean in for another kiss when they’re interrupted by the waiter putting down their check.

“I got it this time,” Caulifla says. She places the money down with some more added on as a tip, then takes her girlfriend’s hand and leaves the restaurant. They decide to Uber over to Kale’s apartment. Once they’re inside they finally have that kiss. Kale draws Caulifla close by looping her arms around her waist and pulling her in. Caulifla drapes her arms over Kale’s shoulders and smiles into another kiss.

They end up cuddling up on Kale’s couch and watch movies on Netflix until they both fall asleep clutching each other. They don’t know what the future will hold, but they’re content as long as they have each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading to the end. I hope you enjoyed! I’ll probably do more DBZ fics in the future, since this has been a fun little thing to work on.


End file.
